International Note: What factors are associated with reading, mathematics, and science literacy of Indian adolescents? A multilevel examination

A sample of 15-year-olds in India took part in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for the first time in 2010. The PISA reading, mathematics, and science literacy scores of Indian adolescents were considerably lower than their counterparts in most PISA participating countries. In order to explore potential reasons for this, the present study, therefore, drawing on data from the fourth cycle of PISA and employing multilevel modeling, examined the relations of student- and school-level factors to reading, mathematics, and science literacy among 4826 15-year-old students from 213 schools in India. Gender, metacognitive learning strategies, studentsʹ positive attitudes toward school, and studentsʹ positive perceptions of classroom climate were found to be significantly associated with Indian adolescentsʹ performance on the PISA assessment.